


chicken nuggets is like my family

by onlytakesataste



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, New York City, They get a dog, and theyre dumb, but soft, wait they get a cat too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 22:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20415490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlytakesataste/pseuds/onlytakesataste
Summary: “Emma, we are NOT getting a dog.”Alyssa never had pets growing up. Her mother would never allow it. Even if dogs and cats weren’t messy balls of energy that left a trail of fur wherever they went, a pet would’ve been too much of a distraction for Alyssa. Mrs. Greene felt that the time it took to bond with an animal would be much better spent studying or getting in an extra workout at the gym. So, maybe after 20 years, a bit of that had rubbed off on her, meaning Emma’s proposition of adopting a puppy wasn’t the most appealing.





	chicken nuggets is like my family

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea what im doing im so sorry this is awful addie and karissa peer pressured me into posting it :)

“Emma, we are NOT getting a dog.”

Alyssa never had pets growing up. Her mother would never allow it. Even if dogs and cats weren’t messy balls of energy that left a trail of fur wherever they went, a pet would’ve been too much of a distraction for Alyssa. Mrs. Greene felt that the time it took to bond with an animal would be much better spent studying or getting in an extra workout at the gym. So, maybe after 20 years, a bit of that had rubbed off on her, meaning Emma’s proposition of adopting a puppy wasn’t the most appealing. 

“But look how fluffy it is! It looks like a little ball of mashed potatoes!!” Emma was scrolling through the local humane society’s Facebook page, fawning over every adoptable animal she came across. Alyssa couldn’t help but smile at the way her girlfriend’s eyes lit up every time a new photo flashed across the screen. “How fun would it be to have someone to cuddle up on the couch with for movie night, or someone to go to the park with after class? Little Mashed Potato here would love to do that...” Emma proposed as she glanced up from her phone to meet eyes with Alyssa, who quickly replaced her smile with a straight face, as if to make her stance on adopting a pet _ very clear. _

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Okay, first, you have _ me _ to cuddle up with for movie night and go to the park with you after class,” she said playfully hurt. “Second, we still have a year and a half left of college, Em! We need to be focusing on school, we’re too busy to take care of a puppy!”

“Oh my god. You sound just like your mother.”

“DO NOT!” Alyssa retorted with a frown.

“You do! I can’t believe I am in the presence of Veronica Greene!”

“Shut up,” Alyssa grumbled as she crossed her arms, “you’re really _ not _ helping your case.”

“Okay, okay fine. I’m sorry. I like you way more than your mother,” Emma added with a wink. She continued, “but really, babe. Our class schedules are practically opposite of each other during the day, so the puppy would rarely be alone. Plus, I think it would be good to have something to put our energy into that’s not composing songs for class or studying for a debate competition.”

Alyssa hated to admit it, but Emma did have a point. It _ would _ be nice to have something to distract her from the piles of flash cards on her desk waiting to be memorized. And who knows, maybe a puppy would be better at listening to her prepare for competitions, as opposed to Emma, whose life leaves her eyes 30 seconds into hearing an opening argument. She sighed as she stood up from her place next to Emma on the couch and walked over to pick up her jacket. “Do you really think this is something we can handle?”

“I really, really do. Plus, I think you’d be a pretty cute mom,” Emma said with a smirk. 

Closing her eyes briefly to collect her thoughts, Alyssa let out a gentle “okay.” Emma opened her mouth to respond, but the other girl continued, “if the right dog comes along, we can adopt it. But I don’t want to just get any dog we see. It has to be the right one.”

“I can work with that!” Emma clapped her hands together while her face made its way into a dorky smile. “We’re gonna be moms!” 

Alyssa softly giggled and looked down to hide the blush that rose to her cheeks at Emma’s mention of them being moms together, even if it was just to a dog. She walked over to the couch and held out her hand to her girlfriend, “but in the meantime, why don’t you take _ me _for a walk around the park since you’re so eager.”

Taking the outstretched hand, Emma stood up and placed a light kiss on Alyssa’s lips, “I think I can make that happen.”

The two put on their coats and boots, it was February in New York after all, and headed out of their apartment. As they prepared to step out of their building into the chilly late afternoon air, Alyssa turned around to face Emma and grab her hands, “for the record, there’s no chance in hell I’m letting you name our dog after a food. Especially one that’s served at KFC.”

\------------------

About a month later, it was the last Saturday of spring break before classes started up again on Monday. Emma was up early, struggling to sleep with the light shining through the blinds of their bedroom window. Alyssa, however, was taking full advantage of her schedule (or lack thereof) and trying to get as much sleep as possible before she had to go back to reality. 

Emma was sitting at the dining room table with a bowl of cheerios scrolling through social media, when she saw it. The humane society had just posted a photo of a litter of 6 puppies they had taken in over night. They were 12 weeks old and available for adoption that afternoon. Without a second thought, Emma screenshotted the post before bolting into the bedroom and jumping on top of her girlfriend. “ALYSSA! Alyssa, babe, wake up, it’s happening!!”

Used to her girlfriend’s antics, Alyssa didn’t even open her eyes before allowing a raspy “what’s happening?” to escape from her lips.

“Look! The humane society has puppies! This one is ours, look at her!” Emma was pointing to the one puppy that wasn’t sitting down. She was lying on her back, paws up in the air, in the corner of the photo. Her tongue was drooping out of the corner of her mouth and she looked like she didn’t have a care in the world. “I know you said it had to be the right dog, and I just know this one is ours. Plus, she’s a goldendoodle so she’s hypoallergenic, so Barry can still come over!”

Finally opening her eyes, Alyssa was greeted with Emma’s iPhone in her face with the brightness all the way up. After giving her eyes a second to adjust, Alyssa was able to focus on the puppy Emma was pointing at. She was probably the biggest of the litter, but still very much a puppy. She had golden fur that was slightly curly, but more scruffy than anything. After looking at the photo and then looking up at Emma, Alyssa couldn’t deny that this was their dog. But, she also knew it would still be their dog after a few more hours of sleep. She rolled over, gently pushing Emma into the spot next to her. “That’s amazing, babe,” Alyssa rasped, “let me sleep for a few more hours and then we can go.”

“Lys, you can sleep for 15 more minutes. It’s already 10:00 and we should get there sooner rather than later so no one else gets her first!!” 

Alyssa grumbled something into her pillow before giving Emma a less than enthusiastic thumbs up. Emma pressed a quick kiss to the top of her girlfriend’s head before rolling the rest of the way off of the bed to get herself ready.

\------------------

It was almost 11:30 by the time the pair walked into the animal shelter. Emma was practically buzzing with excitement, while Alyssa dragged a bit behind; maybe it was because she wished she was still in bed, or maybe it was because she still wasn’t totally sold on buying something that would no doubt destroy their apartment over the next few months. She wanted to do this for Emma, but it was _ definitely _ going to take some getting used to.

Lost in her thoughts (and the terrible smell) Alyssa didn’t even notice Emma talking to the receptionist until she grabbed her hand and they were being led to a kennel that held the puppies.

Sure enough, there were six goldendoodle puppies trotting around a small kennel in the back of the shelter. Emma immediately spotted the puppy she identified in the picture. She was behind all the other puppies, chasing her own tail and yapping in frustration with every circle she made.

“I think I’m in love,” were the first words to leave Emma’s mouth upon spotting their new puppy.

“I’m right here, babe,” Alyssa rolled her eyes, which was promptly responded to with a playful elbow to the side.

“You know what I mean! Lys, look at her. She’s perfect!” Grabbing her girlfriend’s hand while turning to face her, Emma continued “Thank you for agreeing to this. I know this really isn’t your thing but this means a lot to me. You’re gonna love her. I know it.” With that, Emma placed a soft kiss to Alyssa’s forehead before turning back to the kennel. 

Alyssa sighed as she watched Emma scoop up the puppy. She knew how happy this was making Emma, so instead of voicing her doubts, she just smiled. Emma sat on the ground and let the puppies climb all over her and lick all over her face, which made Alyssa’s stomach turn. So, when the receptionist mentioning filling out the paperwork in the front, Alyssa happily volunteered while Emma sat with the dogs

Watching her girlfriend walk back to the front office, Emma picked up their new puppy and held her so they were face to face. “You are so cute. You’re like a little chicken nugget. Yes you are. That’s going to be your name. Chicken Nugget Nolan-Greene.” Chicken Nugget licked Emma’s face and she laughed as she set the newly named puppy down. “Don’t tell your mom though. She said no foods that we could get at KFC. To her, you’re just going to be Nugget.”

\------------------

A week after bringing Nugget home, the girls were exhausted. Between potty training, making sure the puppy didn’t chew up every item in their apartment, and trying to keep up with classes, Emma and Alyssa barely found time to sleep. They were tired, but Alyssa had never seen so much joy in Emma’s eyes before. It was worth it. Even if their apartment did constantly smell a bit like pee and Alyssa’s favorite blanket now had a giant hole in the middle of it. Emma’s smile whenever Nugget was around was enough to melt Alyssa right on the spot.

On Tuesdays, Alyssa only had one online class, while Emma had class all morning. Lucky for Alyssa, this meant that she had the joy of taking care of Nugget for a few hours. By that point, she had had it with cleaning up accidents every hour. She was determined to get this puppy potty trained. Deciding to take the day off from her school work, Alyssa opened her computer and watched Youtube video after Youtube video, taking notes on the best ways to potty train a puppy. The morning was spent taking Nugget outside every 30 minutes; which meant putting her harness and leash on her, putting on her own coat, persuading the puppy _ not _ to be scared of the elevator, and finally getting out of the apartment building so she could do her business. 

She hated to admit it, but Alyssa was starting to enjoy her day with Nugget, albeit exhausting. She loved seeing her tail start to wag when they were walking up the block and a friendly stranger would pass by. She loved how she would lick her hand after she gave her a treat for successfully going to the bathroom outside. And she REALLY loved the first time the puppy whined at the front door, signaling to Alyssa that she needed to be taken outside instead of finding a place to go in the apartment. Maybe, Alyssa thought, having a puppy wasn’t so bad after all.

\------------------

It was nearly 2 o’clock when Emma finally opened the front door to their apartment. She had expected to be greeted with a barking puppy and a groaning Alyssa, but instead it was quiet. She set her backpack down and continued into the living room before noticing Alyssa on the couch, asleep with her arms up by her head and her lips pouting like they do when she dreams. On top of her girlfriend was Nugget, laying on her belly with her head on the girl’s chest, snoring loudly. 

Immediately Emma felt tears spring to her eyes. She was well aware that Alyssa wasn’t Nugget’s biggest fan, and she only agreed to adopting a puppy to make her happy. Emma was fully prepared to be the one to care for the dog, knowing pets weren’t necessarily Alyssa’s “thing.” Alyssa had made a huge sacrifice for her, and Emma was glad to know that she was finally coming around to their new puppy. 

Knowing that her girlfriend would never sleep tonight if she napped much longer, Emma decided to wake her up (but not before snapping a quick photo and setting it as her phone background). She made her way over to the sleeping pair, and began to gently scratch Nugget’s head while placing a soft kiss to Alyssa’s forehead. She grumbled in confusion before her eyes began to open and her lips curled into a small smile. Nugget began to lick Emma’s hand but kept her place, perched on Alyssa. 

“You’re home,” Alyssa yawned as she moved her arms to cradle the puppy and shift into a sitting position. Emma sat down next to her, and the brunette and the puppy instinctively cuddled into her side. 

“And you’re snuggling the puppy you claim to be fed up with,” Emma said looking around, finally noticing the stacks of potty training instructions that Alyssa had printed out earlier.

“It turns out we had a pretty great day together,” Alyssa responded, looking down at the puppy who was panting with content on her lap. “And I don’t want to brag, but I kind of think our daughter is a genius, Em.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, not only did she catch onto potty training after only two hours, but I also taught her how to sit and shake,” Alyssa grinned with confidence at her accomplishment.

“Okay there’s absolutely no way she’s already potty trained,” Emma said in disbelief.

Almost as if she knew what had just been said and wanted to prove the blonde wrong, Nugget jumped off of the couch and trotted over to the front door where she began to whine.

Alyssa shot Emma a glance that said “told you so” without having to speak the words. “That’s our cue, babe!” She stood up and walked over to pick up the leash and harness.

“I’m gone for a few hours and I come back to an alternate universe,” Emma mumbled under her breath as she followed the other girl to the front door. Despite how incredibly confused she was at Alyssa’s sudden infatuation with Nugget, Emma couldn’t be happier to see her girlfriend so excited about achieving something that wasn’t related to school, debate team, or her mother. And she had been right. Alyssa _ was _ a pretty cute mom.

\------------------

A few months later, Emma had never seen someone so connected to an animal as Alyssa was to Nugget. Nugget, now almost fully grown and sporting long wavy fur, followed the brunette everywhere and she didn’t mind one bit. Alyssa truly treated Nugget like she was a human child. Once they girls decided it was time to begin crate training, Alyssa slept on the ground outside of the crate every night for 2 weeks until the puppy stopped whining. When it started to get warmer outside, Alyssa bought little booties for Nugget’s paws so they wouldn’t burn on the hot New York sidewalks. When Emma’s birthday rolled around in early June, Alyssa made sure to make a dog friendly cupcake so Nugget could celebrate too. In a short amount of time, that scruffy goldendoodle (who they were definitely now convinced is more golden than doodle) had filled a hole in Alyssa’s heart that she didn’t even know was empty. 

Emma found it endearing, the way her girlfriend cared for their puppy, until one day she came home from a meeting for a group project to see Alyssa sitting on the couch with Nugget in her normal place beside her. The one thing that was different? There was a kitten sitting on the arm rest, purring contentedly as Alyssa introduced the two animals.

“Lys…. why is there a cat on our couch….?” Emma barely made it through the door before the question had left her mouth.

“Well… I was starting to worry that Nugget was getting lonely when we weren’t home, so I got her a brother!” At this point, Alyssa was practically beaming with pride.

“A few months ago I had to beg you for a puppy, and now you’re the one bringing home animals?” Emma wanted to be mad that Alyssa hadn’t asked before adopting a kitten but she had secretly been wanting to get Nugget a friend too, so she let it slide. Emma walked to the couch and scooped up the kitten to give him a closer look. The dog hopped off the couch to allow Emma to sit next to her girlfriend, and she made her way to her box of toys near her crate.

“I’ve had a change of heart. And look how cute he is! He looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo!” The kitten was all black, except for white feet and a patch of white on his chest. “I haven’t named him yet. I figured I’d ask you because you did such a good job with Nugget.”

Emma smiled to herself, remembering how Alyssa still wasn’t aware of their dogs full name. Returning her attention to the cat, she inspected him thoughtfully. “Hmm… I think his name should be Lady Bird.”

“Lady Bird? Em, he’s a boy.”

“And we are two women in a loving relationship, sharing an apartment, raising our animal children. Times have changed, babe. His name is Lady Bird,” Emma said bluntly.

A smile rose to Alyssa’s lips as Emma quirky and silly personality made itself evident. She loved that about her. Everything had an explanation and a backstory, even the dumb scenarios she made up for animals and inanimate objects. Alyssa loved experiencing Emma’s imagination, and she loved the times it made them both laugh until they cried. 

“You make a good point. Lady Bird it is.”

Emma sat the kitten down on the ground and he wandered off to explore. “It’s so nice out. Why don’t we leave Lady Bird here to get used to his new home and take Nugget for a walk?”

“That sounds amazing,” Alyssa responded, standing up and pulling Emma up with her. 

“Chicken Nugget!! Want to go for a walk?” Emma called to the dog, a knowing glint behind her eyes.

“Emma. You didn’t.”

The dog came running happily from the bedroom to the blonde’s side. Emma just smiled proudly while Alyssa looked back at her with a serious face. Chicken Nugget sat between them, looking up, with her tongue hanging out of her mouth like she was waiting to be praised to listening, even if all Emma did was call her name. 

“I can’t believe you really thought I would name a dog Nugget and _ not _ have that be short for Chicken Nugget. If you’re shocked, that’s on you.” Emma ignored the look on Alyssa’s face and casually moved to put the harness on the dog.

A smile started to form on Alyssa’s lips as she realized that this was exactly why she had fallen in love with her girlfriend so many years prior. “You are something else, Emma Nolan.” The brunette reached up to place a kiss on Emma’s lips. The kiss was gentle, but it lingered for a moment as the two girls let the feeling sink in that this was _ exactly _ where they were supposed to be. Alyssa pulled away first before adding, “but when we have kids, _ I’m _ picking their names.” 


End file.
